


The Power(s) of Love

by nominare



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-11-23 04:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11395248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nominare/pseuds/nominare
Summary: Kara loses her powers and Lena helps restore them. But not in the way you're expecting.





	1. The No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> I received a prompt on Tumblr from metwosix about Lena accidentally walking in on Kara not fully clothed. Oops. Silly Lena. 
> 
> Tomfoolery and flirting to ensue. (With a bit of angst and plot sandwiched squarely in the middle because this story has taken on a life of its own. )

Supergirl is not having a good day.

 

It started out easy enough. Kara had gotten up a little early to take a flight around the city. Not in any official capacity. She just wanted to feel the wind through her hair and hear the roaring against her ears as she flew higher and higher. It was one of those mornings where she could smell the brine from the ocean water in the air. Where she could let her senses dull in the monotony of the flight. To drown out everything except the thoughts of a certain CEO.

 

But Kara should’ve known by now that distracted flying (much like distracted driving for humans) is never a safe thing to do. She was in her head so much thinking about finally asking Lena out on a date, (and what would she wear when she asks, and how should she ask, and should she bring flowers?) that Kara didn't hear the missile behind her until it was too late.

 

She had just turned around when the large projectile hit her center chest, the resulting explosion and shockwave launching her downward towards the city. The edges of her vision darkened for a moment as the air left her lungs. Her body curling in on itself as her back came crashing into the concrete.

 

And if she thought getting hit in the chest with a missile hurt, she had no idea what it felt like to fall flat on her back in the middle of the freeway from 500 feet up and promptly be run over by two large SUVs full of commuters.

 

Bad.

 

The answer is it felt really, really bad.

 

Kara’s head was spinning and it took a moment to distinguish the sound of Alex in her ear over the chaos of car horns and tires screeching and people yelling in her immediate vicinity.  

 

“Yeah… yeah, Alex. I'm here. Ugh… unfortunately I am very much alive.” Kara propped herself up on her elbows despite her body’s protests and looked around to survey the damage. The Supergirl size divot she left in the road would be a problem when rush hour started in about an hour.

 

She stumbled, tripping over her own feet, to the cars that hit her, one turned on its side, windows busted out. The passengers had managed to climb out on their own and were standing on the side of the road looking crumpled and dazed as they took in damage to their vehicle.  

 

“Hi. Are you all okay? Do I need to request an ambulance for anyone?” The world pitched in front of Kara's eyes and she felt nauseated as she tried to focus and remain calm.

 

A large man in a business suit with greasy slicked back hair and a snarl on his face stepped right up to the girl of steel. “You're going to pay for this aren't you?”

 

“I'm sorry, what?” Kara shook her head slightly and worked to adjust her super hearing but the man sounded as though he was speaking under water.

 

“You wrecked my car! You better have good insurance. Look at it! It's totaled!”

 

The man was gesturing wildly and other morning commuters who had pulled over to see if anyone needed help were now instead getting their cell phones out to record the altercation between some random citizen and Supergirl.

 

Re-focused and beyond a little miffed, Kara replied, “Listen, buddy. I'm sure you didn't notice this while you were busy _running me over_ but I kind of just got hit by a missile, so you'll forgive me if… what? What are you staring at?”

 

Business suit man was backing away slowly, staring and pointing vaguely at Supergirl’s chest, his face stricken with terror. Kara looked down to see three small red dots on her suit. With a crinkle on her brow she looked up quickly (and boy was that motion to her head a mistake) to see if she could determine the source when three corresponding shots rang out. Small metallic devices no larger than a golf ball each landed on her chest and immediately let out an electric shock that brought Kara to her knees.

 

The current ran around and through her. It felt like it was splintering bones, boiling her blood. She couldn't think. She couldn't see. She opened her mouth to let out a scream but no noise escaped over the electricity arcing between her teeth. Every muscle in her body was contracting at once.

 

Suddenly all the pain she felt drifted to the back of her mind as she could feel her heat vision firing up against her will. She used the last bit of strength and wits she had to point her face to the sky and pray that there wasn't any aircrafts flying by at the moment her laser vision soared upward like a beacon from the ground.

 

It was only minutes before her powers burned out resulting in a solar flare. And it was only minutes before Alex and the rest of her DEO tactical team landed next to Kara. It was only minutes, but felt like a lifetime until she finally passed out, her body giving way to exhaustion.

 

****

 

When Kara awakes she is not at the DEO. She takes in her surroundings through heavy lids. It's a large bedroom, comfortably adorned with plush furniture and large windows facing out over the city. She can hear Alex’s voice drifting in from down the hall and assumes she's in a safe house of some sort. She knows that the DEO has several of them all over the country.

 

She is still in her Supersuit and is laying on a large bed. Which, though soft, does nothing to change the fact that is feels as though she's been hit by… well... by a missile and two SUVs full of commuters and then an electro-charged weapon. So, it is with great effort that she forces herself out of bed and down the hall to see what answers Alex might be able to give her about just what the hell happened this morning.

 

As she draws nearer to Alex she hears arguing coming from the kitchen. It would appear Alex, J’onn, and Winn are all there. They're all standing around the kitchen island and she can tell that they are in full debrief mode trying to figure who the hell got the jump on Supergirl.

 

She tiptoes out because any steps harder than that reverberate up her spine, jarring her brain, making her teeth clench which does nothing to ease the tension and pain that she is feeling from head to toe.

 

“Guys?”

 

“I don't care what protocol is,” Alex argues, “all the sunlamps at the DEO just happen to be damaged on the same day Supergirl is attacked? No freaking way are we taking Kara back there.”

 

“Umm, guys?”

 

J’onn, obviously not happy to be having this discussion, rubs his hand over his forehead. “Alex, I know you want to protect your sister but bringing her here, when we don't know how close…”

 

“Guys!”

 

Alex, J’onn, and Winn whip around as Kara brings her hand to her head immediately regretting the yelling.

 

“Kara!” Alex and Winn say in unison too loudly for Kara.

 

Alex rushes over to her first. “You shouldn't be out of bed.” Alex guides Kara to the couch and sits her down.

 

“Yeah… I'm feeling that right now. Can you just tell me… _quietly_ … what happened?”

 

Winn chimes in, tablet clutched to his chest. “We don't know much yet," he starts apologetically. "We're analyzing the electrically charged devices and missile fragments that we were able to collect from the scene this morning, but I'm working with some tech I'm not familiar with and we aren't using DEO resources right now so it will take some time.”

 

This only serves to worry Kara more. “Why aren't we using DEO?”

 

“At the same time you were attacked this morning, someone who we have yet to identify broke into the med bay and broke all the sunlamps we would use to heal you after an attack. For now, Alex, Winn, and myself are the only DEO agents that know your whereabouts.” J’onn looks worried. Which means Alex is worried. Which means Winn is terrified.

 

And that means that Kara is… too tired to think about what she is. She drops her head into her hands. “Do we have any idea how long my powers will be out this time?” she mumbles, a bit exasperated.

 

“We’re not sure,” Alex starts soothingly. “The sunlamps of course would help you heal faster which would help you gain your powers back faster. You know the drill. Wait it out or go for the adrenaline rush and hope to jump start everything back.”

 

“Okay,” Kara nods to herself, “okay. We’ve got to be what, twenty stories up? I’ll just…”

 

“No! Absolutely not, Kara. The last time you jumped you were at least in good shape for a human. You’re way too beat up right now to hope that your body…”

 

Kara held her hands up in defeat. _God, when will it not hurt to move_ Kara thinks to herself.

 

“You know what, Alex? Today, I’m not even going to fight you. That is at least, until I’ve had a shower and about another thirty hours of sleep.” Kara stands shakily and heads down the hall, one hand on the wall for support, back to the bedroom from which she came.

 

Alex, Winn, and J’onn all look after her worriedly.

 

“It’s not like her to not put up a fight,” Winn observes.

 

“No. It’s not. There are times when I wish I could read her mind. Something’s off,” J’onn replies.

 

At that moment the three of them hear the keypad to the safe house’s door activate and Alex pulls out her alien gun and trains it on the door only to lower it when she sees Lena enter.

 

“You know, I wasn’t expecting to be welcomed at gunpoint every time I entered my own safe house,” she says by way of greeting, only coming across as slightly annoyed. She is struggling with a large box and duffel bag over her shoulder. Winn hurries forward to help her with the load.

“Everything you should need, Winn,” Lena says nodding at the box full of tech. “I think we can McGuyver together a suitable substitute of yellow sun from this here; and Alex I brought some things for Kara from her apartment.” She holds up her hand before Alex can protest, “I scanned everything for bugs or other contaminants before bringing them here.”

 

Alex and Winn nod, the first in thanks, the second in nerdy excitement to rig together something that will help get Kara back on her feet.

 

“Where is Kara?” The concern is heavily laden in Lena’s voice. She has not seen her since she heard about the attack.  

 

“In the bedroom,” Alex gestures over her shoulder before allowing herself to get distracted by Winn and the gadgetry that Lena brought along.

 

Lena throws the duffel bag over her shoulder again and starts towards the bedroom. It is only when J’onn, Winn, and Alex hear an, “Oh my god! Lena!” and an “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Kara! I didn’t know you were changing!” that they remember that Kara had said she was going to shower only moments before Lena had walked in.

 

“Do we mention this to Kara?” Winn whispers out of the side of his mouth.

 

“And risk our lives when her powers come back?” Alex replies incredulously. “No way.”

* * *

 

Notes:

So this has turned into a bit longer than a one shot. I'm thinking maybe three chapters (four?) when it's all said and done. It's all outlined in my head, just need to get it all typed out. Sorry that Lena doesn't really show up until the end of this first chapter. She'll obviously be front and center in the next!

Next up: just what does one do when one's best friend who they may or may not have feelings for sees them naked? Oh, the conundrums of lesbianism!

Psst... I'm on tumblr! bungledramblingsofalesbianmind

 


	2. And Little by Little, I'll Come Back to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh these two... could they catch a break just once today?
> 
> Maybe... but certainly not the way that they would have planned to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff than plot for this chapter but I wanted to get an update out for you all! I hope you enjoy.

Lena throws the duffel bag over her shoulder again and starts towards the bedroom. It is only when J’onn, Winn, and Alex hear an, “Oh my god! Lena!” and an “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Kara! I didn’t know you were changing!” that they remember that Kara had said she was going to shower only moments before Lena had walked in.

“Do we mention this to Kara?” Winn whispers out of the side of his mouth.

“And risk our lives when her powers come back?” Alex replies incredulously. “No way.”

 

* * *

 

 

Lena’s shoulder aches slightly and she shifts the heavy, over packed duffel bag on her shoulder. She is looking at her phone when she enters the bedroom, busy sending another message off to Jess giving her the final go ahead to cancel the rest of her week under the guise of a ‘family emergency’. It is only after she steps over the threshold and looks up that she realizes immediately that she should have knocked before entering.

 

Lena and Kara lock eyes and almost immediately several things happen all at once:

 

Kara, who is naked except for one last boot that she was busy undoing the zipper of loses her balance on the one leg she was standing on.

 

Lena, eyes wide and mouth agape drops the duffel bag on her right foot and turns so quickly that the heel of her stiletto breaks mid twirl.

 

Kara and Lena scream at the same time, the first in shock, the second a profuse apology. And then both yelp again as they crash to the floor with a loud, _thump thump_. Lena on her side where her ankle rolled and Kara flat on her face, the sheet from the bed mercifully covering her from where she grasped at the bed in a failed attempt to stop her trajectory towards the floor.

 

“Owwww….” they both mutter pitifully in unison.

 

Lena is the first to recover. She takes off both of her shoes and slowly stands testing out her ankle under her full weight. It wouldn’t hurt to ice it, but it’s not the worst sprain she’s ever experienced from a shoe malfunction. She stands, facing away from Kara, staring at the ceiling, while she mentally scolds herself for staring at her naked friend before averting her eyes respectfully moments before.

 

“Kara? I am so sorry. Are you okay?”

 

“Ow.” Kara repeats, not trying to hide the whine from her voice. “You’d think falling from 500 feet would hurt worse than this, but _nope_.’ Kara’s heart is racing and the pounding from earlier has returned to her ears.

 

Kara looks up to see Lena still turned towards the bedroom door. “Oh… you can turn around now. I’m covered.”

 

Lena turns tentatively and looks down at Kara, still on her stomach on the floor with the sheet covering her lower back down to the back of her knees. And this? This is not much better for Lena who realizes again that she is spending a little too much time raking her eyes over Kara’s body. Her eyes snap back up to Kara’s face to see her smiling slightly.

 

“Like what you see there, Ms. Luthor?” Kara teases with a wink.

 

“I.. uh… I BROUGHT YOU SOME CLOTHES.” Lena all but yells, her nerves getting the better of her in the moment.

 

“Oh. Thanks.” Kara says, trying to stifle the small laugh threatening to escape. _The incomparable Lena Luthor,_ Kara thinks to herself. _Who knew she could get so flustered?_

 

“No problem. I’m sorry I didn’t really know what to bring. And that I had to go through your things. But I think I selected a wide enough variety to keep you comfortable. I hope…”

 

“Lena?”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“I’m sure whatever you brought is perfect. Can I ask you something though?”

 

Lena lets out a shaky breath. “Anything.”

 

“Do you think you could help me get off of the floor?”

 

And this time Kara cannot contain her laughter as she sees the look of realization hit Lena that she has been going on nervously now for what feels like ages, while an injured (although amused) Kara is still laying on the floor from her fall.

 

“Oh my god! Yes!” Lena rushes over to Kara and helps her sit upright while paying special attention that the sheet help her maintain her modesty.

 

The care that Lena shows, the soft touches from warm hands, the way Lena looks in Kara’s eyes, over Kara’s body taking survey of the day’s damage warms Kara greatly. It’s takes a moment before Lena realizes that Kara is staring at her.

 

“What?” Lena asks skeptically.

 

“Nothing. Just. Thank you. For being here.” A thought strikes Kara suddenly. “Wait. How are you here? How did you find me in a DEO safe house?”

 

“Oh. That.” Lena starts. “This isn’t a DEO safehouse. It’s one of mine. Alex called me after everything happened and when she realized that the DEO had been compromised. So I told her to bring you here. I hope that’s okay,” Lena finishes somewhat nervously.

 

“More than.” And the smile on Kara’s face seals the deal for Lena. She has known that Supergirl and Kara are the same person for a while now. And while Lena had to sort out some hurt feelings about not being told earlier in their friendship by Kara she was thankful to be so trusted now. Apparently so trusted that Kara’s own sister knew to call her in this time of need. The realization fills Lena’s chest with its own warmth.

 

“‘Good. So… um… earlier…” Lena pursed her lips to the side nervously.

 

“Oh. That." Kara decides on deflection rather than approaching the topic of Lena seeing her naked head on. "Yeah. I was just about to get a shower. A bath might be better but I didn’t think I could lower myself into the tub.” The look of frustration on Kara’s face would be adorable if Lena didn’t understand first hand the terrible all consuming need to feel independent and in control all of the time.

 

“Would you like me to get Alex for you?”

 

“No! No. Just… Alex worries enough. And I’m sure she’s already out there doing so much. No…” Kara seems to think to herself for a moment. “Would you mind helping me, Lena? I mean… you’ve already seen,” Kara gestures vaguely over her body.

 

Lena’s eyes soften, touched by the ask and grateful to be of use. “Of course. Stay here a moment while I run the bath?”

 

“Couldn’t go anywhere if I tried,” Kara replies half jokingly. Lena offers a warm smile and reaches out to squeeze Kara's shoulder gently before padding off to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. 

 

Lena returns a few minutes later and helps Kara stand. They are both a bit slower now with Lena’s sore ankle (though she refuses to limp knowing Kara will immediately shift her attention away from her own needs) and Kara’s bruised body.

 

When they stand near the bathtub, Lena checks with Kara before pulling away the sheet gently and tossing it in the corner. She keeps her eyes glued to Kara’s face as she offers a steady hand while Kara brings the first leg over and into the warm water. She takes a moment before bringing the other over and now with both hands in Lena’s she sits down gingerly. She lays her head back on the cushioned headrest and closes her eyes.  

 

“Is that okay,” Lena asks.

 

And she’s torn between regretting the question immediately and wanting to send the largest gift basket she can afford to whoever taught her decent manners because the moan of satisfaction that escapes Kara’s lips as she feels the warm water lap over her body is the best sound that Lena has ever heard in her life.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she manages to croak out. Kara just smirks in response and opens one eye to look at Lena. But the look on Lena’s face has Kara’s heart racing again. Lena is mere inches from her, pupils blown wide, breaths shallow, and when Lena licks her lips Kara feels heat from more than the bath she lies in.

 

It is Kara’s turn to stammer through, both eyes wide open now. “Yes. It’s… it’s perfect.”

 

Lena nods. “I’ll just be outside when you’re ready to get out.” Lena stands and stops at the doorway before turning around and pointing a stern finger at her friend. “Do. Not. Try to get out of that bathtub alone.”

 

Kara gives a mock salute. “Yes ma’am.”

 

Lena chuckles as she closes the door behind her and whispers somewhat miserably under her breath, “Well _that_ certainly wasn’t how I envisioned seeing Kara naked for the first time.”

 

And fifteen feet away behind a solid wood door, over the slight sloshing of bath water, Kara stills. Amazed and more than a little thankful that her super hearing has returned.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe Kara won't kill Alex and Winn when she realizes that they didn't mention to Lena that she possibly, just possibly, was naked when they sent Lena in to check on her? If I was a betting woman, I think she just might be okay with it in the end. 
> 
> Next up: Sciencing friends! Lena learns more about Kara. And maybe, just maybe, Kara gets more of her powers back? I wonder what little adrenaline rush is up next? Hmmm? And just who is trying to get to Supergirl this time?


	3. Cold Hands, Warm Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara... in a sports bra and boy shorts. For science! 
> 
> And healing. Oh yeah... we should probably help Kara with that, huh? Lena just might be the person to help with such things.

Lena chuckles as she closes the door behind her and whispers somewhat miserably under her breath, “Well that certainly wasn’t how I envisioned seeing Kara naked for the first time.”

And fifteen feet away behind a solid wood door, over the slight sloshing of bath water, Kara stills. Amazed and more than a little thankful that her super hearing has returned.

* * *

 

“Lena? I think I’m ready to come out,” Kara calls from her place in the tub, the water now tepid.

"GET OUT, I'm ready to get out," Kara nearly shouts and buries her face in her hands.

 _I flew here on a bus_... Kara mocks herself in a quiet sing-song voice at the memory of another near miss. 

Kara looks up at the soft knock at the door and her face falls slightly when she sees Alex peek her head in. “Hey, sis. Can I come in?”

 

“Uh… sure. Yeah. Yes, of course, Alex.”

 

Alex smiles and nods and walks in with a bathrobe for Kara. She helps her to her feet and wraps her in the fluffy terry cloth before offering a steady hand for Kara to step out of the tub.

 

“Thanks,” Kara says.

 

“Of course,” Alex replies. Her voice is light, casual, but her eyes have a slight sheen to them as she surveys the bruises and cuts on her sister.

 

“Alex?”

 

And in the next moment Alex has Kara in a tight hug, one that hurts Kara due to her injuries but she’s not about to push Alex away. Not when she can hug her sister as tight as she wants to and not worry about crushing her. And if Kara could ever be thankful for losing her powers, this would be the one reason why. After a moment or two longer, Alex is the first to pull away and wipes angrily at her eyes.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kara. You just… god. I was so scared when I saw you go down.”

 

And Kara nods. She knows. She feels the same way whenever she sees Alex get hurt out in the field. It’s as if Kara is feeling every blow herself; it nearly knocks the wind out of her.

 

“Hey. Hey. It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m already feeling a lot better. And I think I got…” Kara stops short, unsure if she wants to tell Alex that she thinks her super hearing has come back to her. Maybe it was just a fluke? Or worse, a hopeful fantasy of what she wish Lena would be feeling in the moments immediately after their somewhat awkward exchange.

 

“Got what?” Alex asks as they navigate their way out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

 

Kara sits gingerly on the large bed, one hand out to brace herself, and tucks her legs underneath her as she gets settled. She looks up at Alex. “I think I’ve got my super hearing back?”

 

“You’re not sure? Try listening into the other room.” Alex nods encouragingly.

 

It’s still a bit of a strain, but yes. When Kara closes her eyes, and pushes everything else away she can hear Lena and Winn talking in the other room.

 

_“You got this from the International Space Station?” Winn asks in disbelief._

 

 _“I didn’t get it_ from _them. I built it_ for _them. It’s a lamp designed to help them receive a steady source of synthetic sunlight. It took forever to balance the infrared and ultraviolet rays for the multiple uses they wanted it for. The botanists on board just wanted it for their plants.” Lena laughs softly and Kara smiles at the sound. “Primarily, though, the NASA physicians were looking for a more effective way to help the astronauts with their circadian rhythm. Either way,” Lena lets out a small grunt as she pulls off a long bunch of wire with a small mechanical box midway down its length and tosses it over her shoulder, “now that I’ve removed the attenuator, I think this just might give Kara the boost she needs. An hour under this should simulate six hours of normal sunlight exposure.”_

 

Kara opens her eyes again and looks at Alex who is kneeling in front of her. “I can hear Lena and Winn talking about a sunlamp,” she says and Alex lets out a small breath of relief.

 

“That’s great, Kara,” Alex starts. “You’re right, Lena came out not too long ago to help Winn with it.” Alex seems to think to herself for a moment. “I hope that it’s okay that she sent me in? I came to check on you and I think she was getting a bit restless with nothing to do.”

 

“Oh. Of course, Alex.”

 

But Alex knows when Kara is telling a lie, or at least a half truth. And Kara Danvers is definitely not being wholly truthful right now. Alex saw the disappointed look on Kara’s face when it wasn’t Lena who opened the door. She saw the way she tried to cover up her fallen features with that trademarked sunny Danvers’ smile.

 

But, it’s been a day. For everyone. So, for now, Alex decides not to push it.

 

She gently taps her hands on Kara’s knees. “How about I help you get dressed and then we go out there and help those two out there before they blow something up?”

 

And at that, the sparkle returns to Kara’s eyes.

* * *

 

 

Kara sits in a chair in the corner of the room in nothing but a black sports bra and matching pair of boy shorts. Blessedly, J’onn and Winn left with Alex sometime ago to chase down leads regarding whoever is behind the plot to take down Supergirl. Kara knows she needs as much skin as possible showing to soak up the radiation provided by the lamps but she is over feeling so exposed today.

 

She is sitting in a small library. Books, it would appear, are the one thing that Lena refused to skimp on when making her safe house. And she finds herself thumbing through a book on the history of genetics to distract herself.

 

She shifts uncomfortably in the chair and puts the book down in favor of the view out the window. She feels as though she is losing track of time. She is sure she’s been sitting under the lamp for at least a few hours now, but it’s as if the sun hasn’t moved at all in the sky. The bright afternoon sun shining on and on and on, yet doing nothing for her compared to the lamps that are positioned around her. Kara realizes, more than feeling exposed, she is over feeling so _useless_ today. Lena and Winn are building things together. Alex, Winn, and J’onn are out there trying to figure out who and what nefarious plan is underway. And Kara? _Well I’m just sitting here doing nothing!_ Kara thinks to herself, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

 

Lena walks in then and presses a small button on the remote in her hands to turn off the lamps. She doesn’t ask Kara about the frustrated look on her face. She knows that it kills Kara to be sitting here when everyone else is working. Lena, however, is more than a little thankful that Kara has stayed put this time. It took some convincing, but Lena was finally able to wrangle her into that chair. Where she can heal. Where she is safe.

 

“It’s been about two hours, Kara. I need to check some of your biometrics, but first,” Lena gestures the tray in her hands, “I thought you might be hungry?”

 

Kara smiles and sits up in the chair. _Now here’s a view to distract myself with_ Kara finds herself thinking suddenly. She blushes slightly at the unbidden thought, and is thankful that she did not say what she was thinking outloud. Instead, “starving. As always.”

 

Lena laughs, “That’s good. Hopefully that means your strength is coming back.”

 

Kara makes a fist. It is strong, for a human, but she can tell that it’s nothing close to being back to full force. “Not quite.”

 

Lena nods dumbly as she watches Kara's arm muscles flex and her abs tighten under the slight strain and places the tray of food next to Kara, who wastes no time before digging into the sweets laid out. “No kale?” she asks teasingly.

 

“Hmm?" Lena's eyes snap up and she hopes she recovers quickly enough to have not been caught staring at Kara. "Well, I thought you deserved one day without me trying to force something green into that body of yours. But rest assured, as soon as you’re back to normal, I’ll be sneaking it into your smoothies again.”

 

Kara feigns a shocked look. “You’ve been _sneaking vegetables into my smoothies?”_

 

Lena leans forward and arches an eyebrow, “for months,” she whispers conspiratorially.

 

“That’s it!” Kara states. “I’m reversing all of my previous positions published in Catco Magazine. Lena Luthor,” she points at Lena square in the chest, “you are evil.”

 

They both give way to a small fit of giggles at that before a comfortable silence takes over the room. Kara brushes her hands together in effort to get the crumbs off and Lena fidgets with one of the lamps next to her.

 

“I was…”

 

“I should…”

 

They both laugh again. “You first,” Kara says.

 

“I was going to say that I should start the biometrics data collection.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Lena grabs a tablet off of the side table and taps in a few commands before she starts to apply several electrodes to Kara’s scalp, arms, and chest. She is leaning over Kara and she can tell that Kara is trying to look everywhere but up at Lena.

 

“Genetics?” Lena asks, throwing out a lifeline.

 

“Huh? Oh, oh!” Kara taps the book open in her lap. “Genetics. Yes. It’s a bit rudimentary but I was looking for a light read.”

 

“ The History of Genetics and Their Modern Day Applications  is light reading?” Lena asks somewhat surprised.

 

“Well, yes. For me anyway. Did I ever tell you that I was in the Science Guild on Krypton?”

 

Lena shakes her head no.

 

Kara leans her head back and closes her eyes at the memory of Krypton. Of tall buildings bathed in red sunlight. Of running the length of long corridors with her friends while rushing between classes and lecture halls and laboratories. “Genetics was actually one of the first subjects we start with,” she continues. ‘It’s one of the few competencies I completed before…” she trails off.

 

Another silence falls over the room. Heavy this time.

 

Lena looks over Kara, takes in the way her face shifted so quickly from happiness to sadness at the memories of Krypton. Thinks of the extreme opposite feelings that Krypton elicits in Kara. She does not have the words. She knows there aren’t any. What could possibly be said of comfort in the wake of someone losing their entire world? Nothing. There is nothing to be said. Instead, she sits down and reaches out to squeeze Kara’s hand and does not let go while she uses the other to type in several commands on the tablet sitting in her lap. Kara opens her eyes and slowly turns her head to look where her hand is folded into Lena’s.

 

“Well, your scans all look good,” Lena finally says to break the silence. “You’re synthesizing the radiation well and I think we only need to make a minor adjustment before the next round.”

 

Lena looks up from her tablet at Kara. Kara who is still staring at their intertwined hands. Kara, who has several crumbs from the cookies she’s been eating stuck to her lips.

 

Kara looks up when she hears Lena laugh and sees her bring her free hand to her own mouth to cover the obscenely large smile on her face.

 

“What?” Kara asks, dropping a few crumbs onto her chest unknowingly.

 

“You are adorable.” Lena states simply. “And you also have…” Lena gestures to her mouth before leaning forward to rub her thumb across Kara’s bottom lip.

 

Kara’s eyes go wide at the feeling of Lena’s thumb against her lips. The touch is soft and electric and Kara can feel the years of tinkering in the lab Lena has done in the slightly calloused skin.

 

Lena’s breath hitches in the back of her throat. The softness, the pliancy of Kara’s warm lips under her finger is… it’s making Lena’s mind go blank. And that is saying something.

 

Kara can feel her heart racing again at the lingering touch, at the sound of Lena’s small gasp, at the way Lena’s green eyes have become dark while they stare at her thumb rubbing softly against Kara’s mouth.

 

As Lena’s senses return to her and her mind screams - _This is your best friend! You do not touch your best friend’s lips like this. Stop staring, Luthor_! - her limbs finally catch up with her thoughts, and she slowly pulls away.

 

Kara feels her mouth follow Lena’s fingers a fraction of an inch when she moves away, and small ice crystals form over Lena’s fingers as the freeze breath escapes Kara’s lips in a dreamy sigh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up! Lena and Alex perform an experiment. Clues start coming in about Supergirl's attacker. And, more importantly, more flirting, touching, and eye gazing to ensue.


	4. A Very Bizarre Day Indeed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh.. hello angst. I was wondering when you'd show up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't think I used that Wayhaught scene as inspiration for the little mouth thing Kara did with Lena's fingers at the end of the last chapter, then you don't know how big of a pile o' trash I am for both them and Supercorp.

Lena’s breath hitches in the back of her throat. The softness, the pliancy of Kara’s warm lips under her finger is… it’s making Lena’s mind go blank. And that is saying something.

Kara can feel her heart racing again at the lingering touch, at the sound of Lena’s small gasp, at the way Lena’s green eyes have become dark while they stare at her thumb rubbing softly against Kara’s mouth.

As Lena’s senses return to her and her mind screams - _This is your best friend! You do not touch your best friend’s lips like this. Stop staring, Luthor!_ \- her limbs finally catch up with her thoughts, and she slowly pulls away.

Kara feels her mouth follow Lena’s fingers a fraction of an inch when she moves away, and small ice crystals form over Lena’s fingers as the freeze breath escapes Kara’s lips in a dreamy sigh.

* * *

  


It is an innocent gesture. Lena didn’t give it any real thought before reaching out and attempting to brush aside a few crumbs from Kara’s bottom lip. But as soon as her finger touches Kara she can feel the bolt of electricity from her hand straight to her heart; and if she’s honest, quite a bit lower. And it is that primal desire taking over her right now that is fighting so hard against her mind’s rationalization that she should really not be looking at and touching Kara - her best friend - this way.

 

So it is with great effort that she pulls her hand away. Her eyes however stay glued on Kara’s face. Mapping every line and curve and the way that Kara’s breath seems to be coming quicker - much like the audible _beep, beep, beep,_ of the monitor recording Kara’s heartbeat. And Lena is sure she isn’t imaging the slight flutter of Kara’s eyes or soft sigh she exhales when Lena pulls her hand away. And she is definitely sure she saw - and boy is she filing that mental image away for later - Kara’s mouth and tongue chase ever so slightly after Lena’s hand.

 

But all of that fades to the background when Lena realizes that her fingers are covered in a light frost. She looks down at the blueish tips and rubs them together, the heat from the friction quickly melting the ice crystals there and bringing the feeling back. When Lena looks up again, it appears as though Kara hasn’t registered that one of her powers has returned. Instead, Kara has turned half out of her seat and she is staring at Lena’s face with more hunger than if Lena had walked in with ten times the amount of food she had just a short time ago.

 

“Lena,” Kara breathes out as she leans forward.

 

Lena cannot move. All she can do is sit and watch as Kara brings one of her hands up and cups Lena’s cheek. Lena turns into it and closes her eyes before realizing she very much wants to see whatever is about to happen. She has hoped for so long that she and Kara might be something more than friends, but she has been terrified to take that leap. To ask for more. So she opens her eyes and she waits to see if this will be the moment. If this will be the moment that takes them from Lena and Kara, singularly, to Lena and Kara, a unit.

 

Kara brings her other hand up to frame Lena’s face. “You are so beautiful. And brilliant. And amazing. And kind,” Kara starts and then runs her thumb gently under Lena’s left eye. Tears have formed small pools in Lena’s eyes. The emotion of the situation - the nerves, the months of pent up hope, the months of pining and doubting that Kara could ever feel for Lena the way that Lena feels for Kara - it is flooding her brain and overflowing onto her cheek. Kara gives a little lopsided smile, “Are you okay?” she asks.

 

Lena nods quickly, unable to speak over the lump in her throat, face still held in Kara’s hands. As if Kara is holding her entire world there.

 

Kara licks her lips and Lena feels herself mimicking the action. Kara scoots forward on the edge of her seat, closes her eyes, and continues to lean forward toward Lena’s face.

 

Three inches away, two inches away, Lena can feel Kara’s cool breath ghosting across her lips and all the air leaves her lungs. One inch away…

 

Kara and Lena jump back from each other when the door bangs open, “... just more dead ends, Maggie. I don’t know what to… oh.”

 

Alex stops abruptly, phone still held to her ear as she silently takes in the scene that she has barged in on. " _Alex? Hello? Alex? Are you there?”_

 

In response to the sudden surprise visitor Lena knocks over the side table when she stands up quickly, medical instruments hitting the floor in a cacophony of metal on tile. Kara, who was already precariously leaned forward, most of her weight balanced against Lena, falls forward for the second time today. She manages to catch herself on her hands, but her bottom is pitched straight in the air.

 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Kara says from her position on the floor, barely audible over the tinny voice of Maggie still on the phone waiting for Alex to answer.

 

“Maggie? I gotta go. I’ll call you back.” Alex hangs up the phone and places it in the back pocket of her jeans. “Uhh… sorry to have… startled… you.”

 

Kara turns her head so that one eye is peering up at Alex, before rolling them slightly and working to get herself up off the floor. Lena bends down to help Kara to her feet.

 

“Thanks,” Kara says not letting go of Lena’s hands.

 

“Of course.”

 

Alex clears her throat loudly which breaks the spell that Lena and Kara seem to be under. They look over to Alex and quickly drop their hands from each other and both look guiltily at their feet. And then, _because of course these two are idiots around each other_ , Alex thinks to herself, Kara and Lena decide at that same moment to distract themselves from the tension by picking up the items that fell to the floor. And as they bend over they knock their foreheads together, hard.

 

“Ow.”

“Ouch.”

 

And Alex can hardly believe her eyes right now. Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers, both certified geniuses in their own rights, have turned into certified idiots around each other. Maggie and Alex have been going back and forth for some time now about whether or not there was more than ‘just friends’ here. Alex had not been convinced at first. Who isn’t pulled in by Kara’s charm? And who isn’t loved wholly by Kara when they are a part of her circle of trusted friends?

 

But this? The way these two are looking at each other right now? The moment Alex is pretty sure she just cock blocked for her baby sis? This is way more than Alex or Maggie had predicted.

 

Lena seems to come out of her reverie first. “I’m sorry, Alex. Did you need something?”

 

“Uh.. yeah. J’onn and Winn are still investigating some things but I thought I’d come back and check in with you two. To see where we are with Kara getting her powers back?”

 

“Still just the super hearing, Alex.”

 

“You got your hearing back?” Lena asks surprised. “When did that happen?” Lena is back in scientist mode, grabbing for her tablet and awaiting Kara’s response before entering in the data.

 

“Ummm… oh, I don’t know” Kara is fidgeting with her hands. She knows exactly when it came back and exactly what she had heard. But if she tells Lena, will Lena remember what she said when she walked out of the bathroom after helping a very naked Kara into the bathtub?

 

“It was sometime during your bath, wasn’t it?”

 

“Oh. Yes. Thank you, Alex, for that helpful reminder.” Kara makes a look at Alex, which is returned with a _what did I say_ look from her sister.

 

Lena nods, but her face does not give anything away as far as an indication of whether or not she has figured out that Kara heard what she had said. She taps in the information on her tablet.

 

“Alex, Kara. I have a theory. But to test it out, Kara, you cannot know what we’re going to do. Would you mind waiting in the kitchen while I talk to Alex? Please, leave all the electrodes on so that we can get all of our readings.”

 

“Oookay.” Kara reaches for the robe draped over another chair and wraps it around herself before she exits the room.

 

“And no eavesdropping!” Lena yells out as an afterthought.

 

“What are you up to Luthor?” Alex asks skeptically, eyeing the door that Kara has just exited from.

* * *

 

 

 

Kara is sitting on one of the kitchen counter tops, feet dangling lazily, bumping the cabinets in a gentle rhythm when Lena enters the room without Alex.

 

Lena walks up to Kara and comes to stand in between her legs.

 

“Hi there,” Lena says placing her hands on either side of Kara.

 

“Hi,” Kara answers, straightening up and stopping the gentle, _thump, thump, thump_ of her heels on the cabinetry.

 

“Are you ready for our little experiment?” Lena asks as she reaches her hand out to tuck a strand of hair behind Kara’s face that has escaped her loose bun.

 

Kara slowly lifts and drops her head to signal yes, eyes wide as they flicker over the features of Lena’s face, her own hands gripping the counter top on which she sits.

 

“Okay,” Lena nods and she brings her hand down from where it was gently rubbing at Kara’s ear. She lets it lightly trace Kara’s strong jaw, down her neck, and then along the long collar bone before stopping at the collar of Kara’s robe. She toys with the material. “How are you feeling?”

 

“G… good.” Kara says before swallowing loudly. Her pupils dilated and a slight blush overtaking her cheeks.

 

Lena nods. “That’s good,” she says before she continues to trace her hand along the opening of the robe, her fingers barely grazing the warm skin of Kara’s sternum.

 

Kara’s eyes flutter close at the contact. And when Lena brings her other hand to the tie around Kara’s waist she stops suddenly when she hears Kara break off two symmetrical chunks of marble. Dust floating gently upward, powder pooling around their feet.

 

“Well. Isn’t that interesting.” Lena says, sounding half amused, half aroused.

 

“What?” Kara asks.

 

“It would seem that you now have three of your powers back, Supergirl. While not the huge adrenaline rush that allows you to get all of your powers back at once, it would seem that you have been rather _excited_ at least three times today. Enough to release smaller amounts of adrenaline into your system. Rebooting your powers one by one.” There is mischief visible in Lena’s eyes, in the smirk on her lips.

 

Kara claps her hands together to remove the dust from them and brings them up to Lena’s face, framing it a second time in an hour. “Well, then I say we should see about getting more of them back,” she says staring into Lena’s eyes.

 

She leans in again. She gets farther this time. So close. Millimeters away before they hear the beeping of the keypad to the safe house and an angry looking J’onn followed by a worried Winn enter.

 

Lena steps away from Kara quickly again. And Kara starts stammering, “I… uh… we were… we were just performing an experiment… for uh… science!”

 

“Yes. Science.” Lena nods in agreement as Alex comes into the kitchen from the library.

 

“I don’t care what you were doing,” J’onn starts, his booming voice silencing Kara instantly. “I care about what you did.”

 

“I don’t understand.” Kara looks to Winn and Alex for help as she lowers herself to the floor from her perch. Alex shrugs, unsure of where this is coming from. Winn cannot seem to make eye contact with Kara. _Ugh… I hope he’s not going to be weird about me and Lena._ Kara’s heart flips a little in her chest. _Me and Lena! Lena and I!_ The thought makes her warm all over.

 

Alex, ever Kara’s protector though, tries to interject. “J’onn, I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. I’m sure it’s not what it looks like. If you’d just…”

 

J’onn raises his hand to silence his second in command.

 

Kara does not understand. Why does anyone care that Kara and Lena were about to kiss. _Oh my god, I almost kissed Lena!_ Kara’s face blushes as she feels a sudden rush of embarrassment at being caught. And then guilt, because, _Gosh, did Lena even want to kiss me? Did I totally misread those signals? Is she happy we were interrupted? Stupid poker face, Luthor. Why can’t I tell if you look happy or disappointed about us being barged in on?_ And then, anger, because _Wait just a darn second, I can kiss anyone I want!_

 

“Is this because she’s a Luthor?” Kara blurts out only to be on the receiving end of four simultaneous “ _What?”._

 

“Are you mad because I was about to…” Kara’s speech fades as she catches Alex move subtly behind J’onn to signal her with a furiously shaking of her head _no, no, no._

 

“No, Supergirl,” J’onn starts again, his voice a mixture of anger and exasperation, “for once I do believe Ms. Luthor is not involved in this plot against you.”

 

Lena crosses her arms and gives a slight _hmmph_ at the back handed compliment.

 

“This is about you destroying the sun lamps at the DEO.” J’onn says with his hands crossed against his own chest now, biceps tensing under the weight of the accusation.

 

“About me… I didn’t… what?” Kara has never been more confused in her life. And after the events of today with Lena, that is quite the feat.

 

“It’s no wonder no one at the DEO tried to stop an enemy combatant.” J’onn grinds out. “Why would anyone have reason to stop Supergirl?”

 

“I didn’t do it!” Kara finally screams out. She looks at Lena for support.

 

“J’onn, why would Kara destroy the tech that helps her heal in an event of an attack? It doesn’t make sense,” Lena tries in earnest.

 

“The tapes don’t lie, Ms. Luthor.” He holds out his hand for Winn to hand over the tablet he’s holding.

 

Winn at least manages to look a little guilty as he types in a few commands and hands it over to J’onn who shows it to Kara, Lena, and Alex. It is security footage from the DEO med bays. It is obvious from its stop-motion appearance that it has had to be evaluated frame by frame to catch Supergirl on tape destroying the sun lamps one by one. She demolishes each one, some with heat vision, others by pulling them apart in ease with her super strength. She leaves ruin in her wake before speeding back out of the med bays.

 

The trio watches the video slack jawed, Kara shaking her head slowly and only able to mouth _no, no, no_.

 

After several loops, Lena manages to pull her eyes away from the screen and surveys Kara. Seeing the look of distress on Kara's face prompts Lena to say, “I think we get the point. That’s enough.”

 

“Those tapes must have been doctored,” Alex tries, though much to Kara’s disappointment, it lacks conviction.

 

“I checked,” Winn says. “I did. I put it through the same testing that allowed us to determine that the tapes of Lena were altered. And then three more sets of testing.” He looks at Kara, pity in his eyes. “The tapes are real.”

 

Kara reaches out to lean on the counter she has destroyed under her grip. It feels as though the world is collapsing in around her.

 

Alex steps around J’onn and comes up next to Kara as she half-whispers into her ear, “Listen, Kara. We know that being Supergirl is stressful. And everything you’ve been through to get you here? Over the past year? We wouldn't blame you if it’s all too much sometimes…”

 

Kara’s mind is reeling. _Am I really being accused of self-sabotage?_ Kara pulls her arm out of Alex’s loose grip, feeling sick at the accusation.

 

J’onn hands the tablet back to Winn. “Supergirl, you are officially decommissioned. Your reinstatement is pending a psych evaluation, reimbursement of costs of properties damaged, and my own sense of surety that you will never pull a stunt like this again.” As he has gone on, J’onn has sounded less like Kara’s boss and more like a disappointed parent.

 

Kara can do nothing but stare silently ahead, jaw working, and finally after a full minute of silence, one swift nod of her head in agreement.

 

J’onn leaves the safe house, followed immediately by Winn. Alex lingers. “Kara, I… I’m worried about you…”

 

Kara turns her head sharply towards her sister. “You believe him?” There is venom in the words being spit and both Alex and Lena take a half step back in surprise. They’ve never heard Kara speak with such anger and bitterness before.

 

“The tapes,” Alex tries, but Kara is storming out of the kitchen and down the hall. A few short minutes later, Lena and Alex see Kara, duffel bag over her shoulder, stomping towards the front door. She rips it from the hinges when she wrenches it open, and she doesn’t look back when she tosses the door to the floor and stomps down the hall.

 

“Shit,” Alex says.

 

“Do you really think she would do this?” Lena asks, breaking the uncomfortable silence that fell between them in the time Kara had packed her things.

 

“A part of me says ‘absolutely not’. But then there’s the part of me, the part who has seen Kara shoot her laser vision at the hologram of her mother in rage, the part of me who remembers all of the things Kara said while she was under the influence of red kryptonite, and I just... “ Alex runs her hand through her hair, pulling at the roots. “There’s a part of her, Lena,” Alex starts again and Lena can tell immediately that Alex is sharing something with her that she wouldn’t have a few short months ago. “... there’s a part of her that is so angry. And I guess it just wouldn’t surprise me if she finally cracked under some of that pressure. I mean, how long can she go on with the world on her shoulders and not have a moment where she just wants to throw all of that away? By whatever means necessary.” Alex looks down at the floor. “Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy,” she finishes with a whisper.

 

And Lena nods but does not say anything.

 

She can remember many a late night conversation with Kara about the events Alex has just described. About Kara’s anger towards her parents for not doing more to save Krypton. About how unfair it was that these two people who shared so much responsibility for their world ending decided to save their own child instead of someone else’s. About losing her Aunt Astra… _twice_. About her struggles to define her identity, to feel as one person and not two. To not feel like Supergirl and Kara Danvers were always at odds and she wasn’t sure day by day who would win. The guilt of never being able to do enough. The day dreams she would have about hanging up her cape and just leaving it all behind. The guilt, the guilt, the guilt about wishing she had a different life… or worse, dying with the rest of Krypton.

 

 _“But then who would that person be?” Kara asked Lena. “Yet_ another _identity to assume? Kara Zor El is dead. Could I really kill Kara Danvers and Supergirl too? Just because things are hard?”_

 

 _Lena, who sits next to her on the couch, a half eaten box of donuts the only thing separating them, nods along. She is unsure if Kara is being rhetorical or simply trying to give herself a pep talk in these times of doubt. “It’s not who we are,” Lena states simply. “Supergirl, Kara Danvers…_ you _, don’t run from the hard things. And no matter your name, no matter how the people in your life come to know you, the thread that remains constant is how you sacrifice so much for others, even at the cost of yourself.”_

 

_Kara picks at her donut and nods, unable to make eye contact with Lena as a single tear drops on her skirt. “Yeah,” she says with a sniffle. “God, that really sucks,” she finishes with laugh._

 

_Lena laughter joins Kara’s. “Yeah,” she says as she puts her own donut down to reach out and wrap her hand around Kara’s wrist, her thumb rubbing it lightly. Kara turns her head to look Lena in the eyes. “Yeah,” she breathes in agreement._

 

“You should go after her, Lena,” Alex says, pulling her out of her memory.

 

“Oh, I don’t know, Alex. You’re her sister. I’m sure…”

 

Alex puts her hand on Lena’s shoulder. “I’m not the one she wants to see right now. Go.”

 

And with that Lena leaves, stepping over the door on the floor and heads down the hall after Kara.

 

When Lena finally manages to catch up with Kara, she sees that she has changed into her Supersuit. She comes up behind her, and rests her hand on her shoulder, trying to catch her breath after running after her for the last four city blocks.

 

“Kara,” she starts between breaths. “Kara, come back. Let’s talk about this with Alex. I know there’s an explanation. Come talk to us.”

 

Lena feels the shoulder under her hand tense before the blonde turns around. Lena looks up and into the face of the woman in front of her, searches for the blue eyes she has come to associate with warmth and comfort and safety to see only black orbs there. She pulls her hand away quickly.

 

“Who… who are you?”

 

The woman tilts her head in a curious sort of way, but says nothing.

 

Lena turns around when she hears Kara screaming “Lena! Lena!” some fifty feet or so behind her. "Get away from her!" Kara screams, though Lena is unsure if Kara is screaming at her or the impostor close by. 

 

But before she can start to process Kara being behind her, still dressed in the clothes she left in in the safe house and the Supergirl look alike in front of her, the body double reaches her arms around Lena’s waist and lifts her into the air and out of sight of the people on the streets below.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously... Kara tried to kiss Lena twice and failed. She needs to work on her moves. 
> 
> So... a divergence from canon is on the way along with the true identity of our hero's foe. I hope you stick with this. It's going to get a little bumpy the next chapter. 
> 
> (I think two or three more chapters after this. Sorry/not sorry I lied and said it would be four originally.)
> 
> Author's note: based on some of the comments below (thank you for the feedback!) I feel like it's important to note that this story has my own take on the introduction of Bizarro. While some themes from the show willl be present, J'onn, Alex, Winn, Lena and even Kara have never met Bizarro before. I hope that sheds some light on why their reactions to Kara are how they were presented. Much love!


	5. Seeing Things More Clearly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So our team has been split up! Lena and Kara on one side and Alex and J'onn with Winn on the other. Will it stay that way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much more action than fluff this chapter. And for my Sanvers fans out there, hopefully some cute banter to help redeem the angst that I have maliciously reigned down on y'all. (Did I ever tell you all that you're pretty and I like you? That top looks exceptionally lovely/handsome on you. Really brings out your eyes... ahem... what's that? Flattery will get me nowhere? Oh well... On with the plot then!)

When Lena finally manages to catch up with Kara, she sees that she has changed into her Supersuit. She comes up behind her, and rests her hand on her shoulder, trying to catch her breath after running after her for the last four city blocks.

“Kara,” she starts between breaths. “Kara, come back. Let’s talk about this with Alex. I know there’s an explanation. Come talk to us.”

Lena feels the shoulder under her hand tense before the blonde turns around. Lena looks up and into the face of the woman in front of her, searches for the blue eyes she has come to associate with warmth and comfort and safety to see only black orbs there. She pulls her hand away quickly.

“Who… who are you?”

The woman tilts her head in a curious sort of way, but says nothing.

Lena turns around when she hears Kara screaming “Lena! Lena!” some fifty feet or so behind her. "Get away from her!" Kara screams, though Lena is unsure if Kara is screaming at her or the impostor close by.

But before she can start to process Kara being behind her, still dressed in the clothes she left in in the safe house and the Supergirl look alike in front of her, the body double reaches her arms around Lena’s waist and lifts her into the air and out of sight of the people on the streets below.

 

* * *

 

Kara watches her likeness put her arms around Lena’s waist and take off into the skies. And then she’s running after them, trying to keep them in her sights as she dodges the stream of people moving past her. She’s losing them. While the lookalike seems to be in no hurry, Kara’s superspeed hasn’t returned. And though she gives a little hop about every twenty feet or so, her body never gets more than a few inches off the ground.

 

 _C’mon you stupid superhero_ Kara yells at herself, frustrated that her body isn’t cooperating.  _Give me something!_ she yells again and is immediately forced to her knees, her eyes wrenched shut. Of all possible powers at her disposal, her x-ray vision is the one that has decided to return in full force, nearly blinding her with its intensity. She’s doubled over, trying to breathe through the nausea that’s rolling over her. After a minute, minutes - she starts to open her eyes little by little, readjusting to the sights around her. It’s a lot, too much, after having regular vision for nearly 24 hours, and she doesn’t have her lead lined glasses to buffer the sudden onslaught.

 

She places a hand on her knee and forces herself up. She stumbles slightly and is forced to lean against a store front for support. She has lost Lena and her captor in the few minutes time. Cursing herself, she fights against the splitting pain in her head and uses her x-ray vision to scan the skies through the tall buildings that surround her.

 

After what feels like a lifetime, she spots them again. Kara sprints forward. Ahead three blocks, left for two, a sharp right, another left. She is getting farther from the city’s center. From the DEO. From Alex. From any sort of help. She reaches into her pocket for her phone only to remember it’s in the duffel she dropped to the ground when she saw Lena abducted.

 

Her lungs and calves burn and she breathes heavily in through her nose and out through her mouth while she says a silent prayer to Rao for some sort of breakthrough. For the rest of her powers to come back.

 

She looks up again and she can see, just atop a small office building, Lena alone on the roof. She runs to circle the building, looking desperately for a fire escape that will give her access to the roof quickly.

 

As she makes her way around the back of the building where the parking lot is, she thinks she can feel a larger vault in her step. With renewed effort, she tries again to launch herself upward. She jumps six inches off the ground. Three running steps forward. She jumps two feet off of the ground. _I’m coming, Lena. Hold on!_  She runs a little further this time and goes to leap but has to stop her trajectory abruptly so that she doesn’t launch herself into a black van as it comes screeching to a stop in front of her. She’s about to change directions to run around it, when the door slides open and a man in a suit points a gun in her direction.

 

Three darts, glowing green, hit Kara in the chest in quick succession. She drops to her knees and falls backward slightly, her limbs heavy under the weight of the poison coursing through her veins. Kara thinks that she can hear Lena screaming from the rooftop. Thinks that she can see Lena fighting against strong arms clothed in blue as she struggles to look over the edge of the roof and down at Kara.

 

As she falls to her side, her head bouncing against the asphalt, the pebbles and concrete digging into her skin, she hears her attacker saunter over, heels clicking on the cement. He crouches down in front of Kara, a malicious leer on his face. He snaps his fingers once to signal to his henchmen behind him. “Pack her up,” he says before standing again.

 

And for the second time today, the world goes dark for Kara.

 

* * *

 

Alex sits back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. She grabs her phone off the workbench and dials a familiar number.

 

“Kara… please. I know I was stupid. I’m sorry, okay? Just... just call me back? You need to see something.” she whispers into her phone, leaving Kara yet another voicemail. She hangs up and tries texting Lena again.

 

_Did you find Kara? Are you guys talking? Please tell her I’m sorry. I know she’s mad at me… she has every right to be. But… just text back? Anything..._

 

She slips her phone into her back pocket and brings her eye back to the microscope in front of her.

 

“What have you got?” Alex jumps at the sudden voice of J’onn behind her. He’s surveying the fragments laid out on stainless steel tables next to her from Supergirl’s attack earlier that day.

 

“A problem.” is all that Alex replies as she continues to examine a piece under a microscope.

 

“That’s not from the missile, is it?” J’onn asks, looking at the monitor for the microscope more closely.

 

“The little that we have from the missile and electroweapon are leading us nowhere,” she says. “That,” Alex starts, “is a piece of one of the sun lamps that was destroyed this morning. And there is something very, very wrong with it.”

 

Alex turns in her chair and calls up some pictures from the DEO database. A split screen fills the large TV screen on the wall in front of J’onn.

 

“The picture on the left is a piece of building that Kara used her laser vision on last year.” Alex taps the keyboard again. “Left again, a fragment of a car that Kara used her laser vision on last month to help a family escape after a car accident.” Three more pictures flit through the left side of the screen. “A piece of the oil freight, another car, and a piece of Red Tornado’s suit. All pieces cataloged from Kara’s previous uses of her heat vision,” she says.

 

J’onn nods along, but it’s apparent he does not know where Alex is going with this.

 

“Do you see how the markings are different on the piece on the right? There’s the point of impact from when the heat vision first makes contact, here and here,” Alex taps the screen on the left and right side. “The melting point is different. The pieces on the left? They all have been exposed to 0.4 seconds of the same high temperature point before the line continues. The piece on the right took a full second of direct heat before the line continues. And instead of the starting point being exposed to a constant temperature, you can tell by the way the metal is distorted that it was exposed to heat that got warmer as it went on.”

 

“Alex, this is all very educational, but I don’t see…”

 

“Just wait, J’onn. Please.” Alex gets up and walks over to a second work station and pulls up the security footage from before. “Look, here. It’s almost like she’s having to work harder to get her heat vision working. See how it gets brighter as it goes on? It looks like when Kara first started out. When she was first testing out her powers.” Alex pulls her eyes away from the footage.

 

“J’onn. I know, I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, or that I’m just trying to protect Kara, but I don’t think…” Alex stops, stands up straighter to look J’onn in the eye. “I don’t think this is Kara on the tapes.”

 

“Alex. We’ve been through this,” J’onn starts with a heavy sigh. “Agent Schott checked the tapes multiple times. They haven’t been manipulated.”

 

“I know! I know… I agree with his assessment. I don’t think they have either. What I’m saying is, whoever is on the tapes? They’re real… they’re just not Kara.”

 

J’onn narrows his eyes at Alex. He looks at the video footage again and then back over to the metal fragment comparisons.

 

“A look alike?” he asks. He regrets it immediately. A heat signature seems circumstantial compared to the other evidence against Kara. Evidence, he is wishing he never found. He feels a twinge of guilt as he thinks about how he spoke to Kara earlier this afternoon.

 

“Well, we know that it’s possible. You yourself imitated Kara last year to throw Cat Grant off the trail.”

 

J’onn doesn’t want to give Alex false hope. “Yes, but Alex, I couldn’t recreate Supergirl’s powers. Flight and super strength were only possible because I already possess those.”

 

J’onn sees the way Alex’s face falls at this. “Alex,” he steps forward and places his hands on her shoulders. She returns his gaze with the trademarked Danvers Sisters pout. His chin drops to his chest in defeat. “I… alright. Twenty-four hours, Alex.” He lifts a hand and points at her. “That’s it. Find me the concrete evidence that this isn’t Kara.”

 

Alex nods eagerly, “Yes, sir.”

 

J’onn turns to leave the lab. _God, let it be true,_ he mutters to himself as he hears Alex on the phone again.

 

“Maggie? Hey, I need your help.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So you think Little Danvers is going to be cool with you bugging her phone?”

 

“I didn’t bug her phone, Sawyer. I just hacked the ‘find my phone’ feature. That’s totally different,” Alex replies as they walk down the busy city street to to find Kara. Alex staring at her own phone screen, the blue dot indicating they’re getting closer and closer to the red pin marking Kara’s location.

 

“Whatever you say, Danvers,” Maggie says through a slight chuckle. “Although if we ever break up, remind me to remind you not to become a stalker.”

 

Alex stops walking suddenly and Maggie almost walks into the back of her. “Oh… Alex. I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just…”

 

Alex shakes her head _._ “No. We’re here…” Alex says looking around for Kara.

 

“Um… Agent Danvers? Didn’t you happen to mention that there might be more going on between Little Danvers and Lena recently?” Maggie asks with a smirk on her face.

 

“Yes,” Alex replies with narrowed eyes, not sure where this line of questioning is going.

 

Maggie lifts her hand lazily in the air to indicate the National City Hotel sign just next to them. “Maybe this is why she isn’t answering her phone?”

 

“Eww! What? No! No way. Eww. Maggie. Gross. Besides she was way too pissed to want to… eww.” Alex scrunches up her nose and turns away from the building to survey the street.

 

“I don’t know about that Alex, I can think of a time or two when you’ve been pretty angry and we’ve… hey… where are you going?”

 

Alex has taken off at a light jog and comes to a stop in front of an abandoned black duffel bag near the alley opening. Maggie catches up to her and can hear Alex’s breath shudder, knows there’s already a sheen of tears in Alex’s eyes when she says, “Kara’s bag.” She kneels down to open it up when Maggie places her hand on her shoulder to stop her.

 

“Gloves,” she says, all teasing gone from her voice as she crouches down next to Alex to start to examine the bag with her girlfriend. Her cop senses are tingling and that means this is evidence. Evidence means gloves. Evidence means proper procedure.  Evidence means a crime scene.

 

Maggie feels her heart constrict at the thought.

 

Alex and Maggie start to unzip the various compartments of the bag. It’s haphazardly arranged and it’s easy to tell that Kara had just thrown all of her belongings in it in an angry rush. Maggie finds the cell phone in a side pocket. She looks at Alex quizzically when she takes off her right glove. “Thumb print recognition,” she says before placing her thumb over the phone lock button. Six missed calls and about a dozen text messages from the super friends.

 

Maggie stands up and starts to turn slowly, looking up and down at the area around them.

 

“No apparent sign of a struggle,” she starts. Alex takes a deep breath to steady herself and stands to join Maggie. She’s been doing this sort of work long enough to know that the sooner she drops the sister act and shifts into agent mode, the quicker she and Maggie can figure out what happened to Kara.

 

“There,” Alex points upward at a metal pole with traffic cams pointed in nearly every direction. She taps the comm in her ear. “Winn? Yeah, I need traffic cam footage from the cams at 2nd and Hollis for the last two hours. Dispatch a tech team to the same location. Maggie and I are coming back to command. ETA 10 minutes. And Winn? Make sure Director J'onzz is there.”

 

“Go,” Maggie says. “I’ll call Lena to update her on the situation and catch up as soon as the tech team arrives.”

 

Alex leans in for a quick kiss and leans her forehead against Maggie’s. “Tell me it will all be alright.’ she whispers.

 

“No one gets the better of the Danvers sisters,” Maggie replies without hesitation. “We’ll find her.”

 

Alex squeezes Maggie’s hand and then she’s lost from sight in the crowd, heading back to the DEO.

 

* * *

 

Kara awakes to a sharp kick in her side. She chokes as the air leaves her lungs and she folds her body in half where she lies on the cold concrete. It takes a moment, but when she can finally open her eyes, she sees that the room is bathed in a soft green light though watery for the tears in her eyes. She blinks rapidly to rid them. She sees the booted feet of the person who kicked her retreating to the corner of the room before grabbing a hold of a metal chair and letting the back legs scrape against the floor as he drags it over to Kara. He places it in front of her with a loud thump that makes Kara jump slightly from her position on the floor.

 

The door groans on the metal hinges as it opens and a second person enters the room and sits in the chair offered to them. Kara can only manage to bring her head far enough off the floor to see the expensive pants and shoes of the person sitting in front of her. She blinks rapidly again, willing her vision to clear in the haze that is fighting to take back over her mind. A pair of hands lazily rest on knees when the man finally leans over and his face comes into view.

 

“Well, well. Miss Danvers. How wonderful for you to finally join us.”

 

“Maxwell Lord.” Kara nearly spits out.

 

“Ahhh… I do so love hearing my name from those lips of yours. Especially when you’re lying on your back all black and blue.”

 

Kara bites her tongue to hold in the scream of pain she wants to release as she forces herself into a sitting position.

 

“Ever the stubborn one.” Max says, eyes roaming over Kara’s body. “No matter. We’ll have that taken care of soon enough. He snaps his fingers and a two way mirror illuminates on a wall behind Max’s shoulder.

 

“Lena.” Kara breathes it out like an answered prayer.

 

“Ah, yes. Ms. Luthor is turning out to be quite the resource. What a happy coincidence that she was nearby when we were planning on just taking you today.” Max stands and walks over to the mirror, bringing one hand up to rest against the wall.

 

Kara drags herself forward with her hands on the slick concrete, her legs heavy and useless behind her while she is enclosed in the room that emanates kryptonite.

 

“What are you doing to her? I swear if you hurt her!”

 

“Oh, settle down now.” Max turns to look at her with an annoyed expression on his face. As if she is nothing but a silly, over excited schoolgirl. “Nothing is being done to Ms. Luthor. She has been told why we require her services and she has been nothing but compliant.” Max rubs his jaw. “Even if she did get a lucky shot in first.”

 

Kara looks at Lena through the glass. She doesn’t appear to be in any immediate danger. No, she just looks like she does every time Kara would find her working in her lab at L-Corp. She alternates between peeking through a microscope, jotting down some notes, and adding samples to what Kara recognizes as a mass spectrometer.

 

“And what _services_ would those be, Lord?” Kara asks, trying to keep her voice level and her fury under control while her mind desperately looks for a way out of the situation she’s in.

 

Max walks over to Kara, kneels down in front of her, and grasps her chin in his hand. “All in due time, Miss Danvers. All in due time.”

 

Kara pulls her face away angrily and pulls back slightly before spitting directly into Maxwell’s face.

 

His head bounces back and he calmly reaches down into his front dress shirt pocket for a handkerchief. He wipes his face and stands.

 

“You know,” he starts with a snarl in his voice, the calm demeanor fading, “I think we can go up a notch or two on the kryptonite in here. Seems like there’s still a little spunk that we need to dampen.”

 

Kara releases the contents of her stomach as the green glow in the room intensifies. The sounds of her retching echoing off the walls and punctuated by the slamming of a heavy, lead lined door.  

 

* * *

 

Winn is bringing up the traffic cam feeds as Maggie enters the DEO command center. She stops next to Vasquez’s station. “Update?” she asks, not wanting to interrupt Alex at work while she talks with Winn and J’onn in hushed voices.

 

“Just about to pull up the feeds now,” Vasquez starts. “Any update on Luthor?”

 

“Still no answer. I’m starting to worry that..” Maggie goes silent along with the rest of the room as four of the six screens in front of her show the 2nd and Hollis’ intersection.

 

“Okay!” Winn starts, “There’s Kara… in her Supersuit?”

 

“There’s Lena,” Vasquez says. “Right behind her.”

 

“Wait,” Alex points at another screen. “ _That’s Kara_ , she’s wearing the same outfit that we saw her in when she left the safe house.”

 

“If that’s Kara,” J’onn starts, “then who is…”

 

Gasps fill the room as they see “Supergirl” lift Lena into the air on one screen and Kara take off running after them on the other.

 

“Rewind it and show the north and west facing cams again, Winn,” Maggie starts when no one else says anything.

 

Winn does as he’s told.

 

“Alright, alright. Kara is running northeast,” Maggie continues, “Winn?”

 

“On it!” he says as he starts furiously typing and one by one traffic cams from the city are now following Kara as she runs, stumbles, and gets up again. They follow her down several city blocks, and then finally to the smaller business district.

 

“Lena’s on the roof!” Vasquez says. They bring up the cycling footage of Lena on one screen and then on the other, the footage of Kara. It’s obvious she’s trying to take flight.

 

And then… and then the whole room, which has now gathered several other agents watching the events unfold, goes stiff in terror at the sight of Maxwell Lord exiting a vehicle after shooting three projectiles into Kara.

 

Alex drops to her knees. J’onn breaks the table as his fist comes down.

 

“Vasquez,” Maggie says, “Get Major Lane.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This just keeps getting longer and longer, y'all. I hope it's still enjoyable! 
> 
> Also, I apologize to any scientists who are reading this story for the liberties I have taken... I hope it wasn't too terrible.
> 
> Up next! Maxwell Lord's evil plan revealed. Just what is up with Lena all unharmed and apparently working with Max? Can Alex and J'onn save Kara and redeem themselves? And god bless Lucy Lane coming in at the behest of Maggie. Girl power, amirite?


	6. Many Plans In Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max's plan comes to fruition with mixed results. 
> 
> Lena's involvement becomes clear. 
> 
> Lucy Lane gets everyone's ass in gear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's coming to a head y'all. Probably the last chapter where our lovebirds are separated from each other. 
> 
> I know this has turned into a wild ride. But much like life, you can be flirting with your crush one second, and fighting for your life against a madman and your genetic identical while your friends who work for a secret government agency try to rescue you in the next. Right? Well, figuratively anyway...
> 
> I present to you as a peace offering for my angst: Lucy Lane in army fatigues.

And then… and then the whole room, which has now gathered several other agents watching the events unfold, goes stiff in terror at the sight of Maxwell Lord exiting a vehicle after shooting three projectiles into Kara.

 

Alex drops to her knees. J’onn breaks the table as his fist comes down.

 

“Vasquez,” Maggie says, “Get Major Lane.”

 

* * *

 

_Lena looks into the small room through a slot in the door. Walls of concrete studded with kryptonite are emitting a garish green light. She can hear the soft hum of the large amount of electricity being used to power the security systems in place. The elaborate setup, all for one prisoner. One prisoner who has yet to regain consciousness._

 

_Lena looks at Kara lying on the floor, her hair splayed, limbs at awkward angles. The black and blue bruises that have yet to fade from this morning’s attack stick out in sharp contrast against the green hue of her skin as it absorbs the kryptonite’s radiation. She wants to reach out and feel Kara under her fingertips. To feel her chest rise and fall with each breath. To comfort her. To heal her._

 

_She wants to rip the door off of its hinges and scoop Kara up and get her as far away from this place as possible._

 

_“Why are you doing this?” she asks, her voice heavy with emotion._

 

_Maxwell Lord comes to stand behind her, leans his head forward so that’s it’s hovering just above her left shoulder. “It is time, Ms. Luthor, to rid the city of this menace.”_

 

_“Menace?” Lena scoffs. “I fail to see how Kara Danvers...”_

 

_“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Max places his hands on Lena’s shoulders and gives a slight squeeze. “Are we really going to insult each other’s intelligence by pretending we don’t know that our very own Kara Danvers and Supergirl are the same person?”_

 

_Lena’s fists clench at her sides. “No. I suppose not,” she replies coolly._

 

_“Good,” Max says chirpily. “So then, about National City’s number one threat then?”_

 

_Lena tears her eyes away from Kara and turns to face Max, an incredulous look on her face._

 

_“Come now, Lena. You can’t tell me that the first daughter of Cadmus doesn’t think that there should be more measures in place when it comes to these fantastic creatures? That these visitors to Earth shouldn’t have to play by our rules, be under our wise guidance as to what they can and can’t do?”_

 

_Lena watches Max walk up and down the hallway, his gestures becoming more dramatic as he goes on._

 

_“You mean control them?” Lena feels sick at the thought._

 

_“Now, now. I would never presume to think that I, a lowly human, could control Supergirl. But what I can do, is replace her with someone that is, shall we say, more easily persuaded to humankind’s cause.”_

 

_Lena turns when she hears a door to another cell open and is horrified again to see the likeness of Kara walking towards her. She can feel herself shrinking away in spite of herself._

 

_“Maxwell… what did you do? Who is this?” Lena can feel the bile rising in her throat._

 

_Lord walks over to his creation and strokes her hair, tucks an errant strand behind her ear. Lena fights against the memory of the same loving gesture she made to Kara some hours before. Fights to remain present. To remain clear headed._

 

_“Someone who was forgotten, hmm?” he says to the woman before him, her face blank despite the interaction. “Someone who will do what we tell her to do.” He turns to Lena. “We are at a crossroads, Ms. Luthor. You were not a part of my original plan. But…” he steps up to Lena, crouches slightly so that he can look her in the eye. So that she can see the maniacal look there. So she can see that there is no room for debate._

 

_“But here we are. A happy turn of events if I do say so myself. You, Ms. Luthor, are going to help me remove Supergirl’s powers for good. Personally, I would have been happy to see her rot in a kryptonite cage. But I think,” Max can barely contain the gleeful laughter bubbling up, “... it would be better to remove her powers and not kill her. It’s a win-win really. You get to keep your girlfriend and I get to lay my head on my pillow every night knowing that Supergirl will live the rest of her days absolutely powerless.”_

 

_Lena looks back through the slot in the door. The decision, it would appear, has been made for her. Kill Supergirl to save Kara Danvers._

 

_She turns to look at Max again, seeing the triumph on his face. “You can never truly control people, Max.” Her eyes flicker over to Kara’s carbon copy for a moment and then the pain is sharp and temporarily blinding as it radiates from knuckles to shoulder when she makes contact with Max’s jaw. Max holds his hand up before Supergirl’s double apprehends Lena._

 

_“Glad to know we have a deal.” He wipes away the trickle of blood from his split lip and then waves his hand for Lena to be led away._

 

* * *

 

Alex and Maggie shield their faces from the powerful gusts of wind coming from Major Lane’s helicopter as it lands on the helipad of the DEO. She steps off, clad in her camouflage army pants, double thigh holsters in place, and khaki colored t-shirt. Her dog tags bounce against her chest with each determined step. She lowers her head for the blades spinning above her and rushes over to Alex and Maggie.

 

“I want a full briefing in fifteen minutes, Agent Danvers,” she yells over the roar of the helicopter taking flight again behind her. Alex nods as she holds open the door and they descend the stairs.

 

It’s all hands on deck in the DEO command center. If an agent wasn’t tasked with something critical they were at attention while Alex briefed Lucy. She followed along in silence as Alex walked her through the timeline of the last ten or so hours. It was methodical and thorough, but Lucy has worked with Alex long enough to know that there are pieces missing from her telling of events. And even more disconcertingly, is the obvious absence of Director J’onzz.

 

Alex wraps up her briefing with the last known whereabouts of Supergirl.

 

“What are your orders, Agent Danvers?” Lucy asks. She may be there to take lead on this, to bring a clear head to an emotionally charged situation, but she knows every agent in this room works for Alex, no matter the title attached to Lucy’s name.

 

“We have four tactical teams ready to survey here, here, here, and here,” Alex starts, pointing to the two crime scenes and the two most likely routes of escape on a map. “Agent Schott is running algorithms to search for kryptonite signatures in the area. Detective Sawyer is our NCPD liaison. She’ll be putting out some quiet feelers in the community to see if there’s been any rumblings about an alien who can not only shapeshift but also assume another’s powers. I’m running multiple extraction plans with Agent Vasquez to coordinate a strike once we know Supergirl’s location.”

 

Lucy looks around at the teams already grouped together, sizing them up. “Agreed. Except I want Hanson to take a team of five to the safe house as well.” Lucy sees the look of worry on Alex’s face. “I’m not saying Ms. Luthor had a hand in this, Agent Danvers. But I’m not doing my job if we don’t take the time to prove that. Hanson, choose your people. I want team lead reports every hour on the hour. Head out.”

 

There’s a sudden rumble of boots on concrete as the teams march out. Lucy walks over to Alex.

 

“Three things, Agent Danvers. One,” Alex is frozen under Lucy’s intense glare, “the moment I see you lose your head, the moment I see you become Kara’s sister and not an agent of the DEO, I’m benching you.”

 

Alex wishes she were shocked by this, but she was expecting it the moment the call was made to bring Lucy in to run the op.

 

“Two,” she rest her hand on Alex’s arm, “we’re going to get her back. Both of them. Safe and sound.”

 

Alex nods, her emotions threatening to take over as she feels the depth of Lucy’s conviction in her bones.

 

“Three,” she pulls Alex in by that same arm and whispers harshly, “where the hell is Director J’onzz?”

 

* * *

 

When Kara wakes again it feels as though the intensity of the kryptonite has ebbed a bit. It takes a couple of tries but she can finally stand on her own. The pain she’s in is excruciating and the fatigue she feels is amplified with every step she takes.

 

She tries to remain calm, to remember the training Alex has given her over the years.

 

_“Survey the room. Top to bottom, left to right. Be methodical about it. Look for discrepancies. Investigate them as you can without tipping off your captor._

 

_“Look for anything that can be used as a weapon. Don’t forget that you yourself are a weapon, even in a weakened state._

 

_“Keep your wits about you. Do anything and everything to keep your mind alert. Trust your instincts, even when being presented with what seems like an absolute truth. If you know in your heart it’s wrong, then it’s wrong.”_

 

Kara starts looking around the room. As far as she can tell it’s just four walls of concrete with the rocks embedded in them that make her insides feel like they’re turning in on themselves. The only difference between them is the two-way mirror that she saw Lena through earlier on the wall in front of her.

 

 _Lena_ , Kara whispers to herself. She still doesn’t understand what was happening before. What was Lena doing? She hobbles over to the glass and is shaken at her reflection. She brings a hand to her face and traces the lines of bruising and a particularly nasty cut on her lip. She stumbles backward when the viewing window is suddenly turned on but rushes forward again when she sees Lena. She runs her hand over the glass affectionately before trying to pound on it. It doesn’t break under her fists. It doesn’t even vibrate. Lena is oblivious to the fact that Kara is just inches away from her.

 

Kara stops screaming Lena’s name and her heart drops into her stomach when she sees Maxwell Lord enter the room and approach Lena. She startles when a speaker in the ceiling fills her room with the sounds of Max and Lena’s conversation.

 

“How are you doing, Lena,” he asks as if making small talk with a co-worker.

 

She turns her head slightly in his direction but does not take her eyes off the work in front of her.

 

“It’s nearly ready,” she replies, her voice void of any type of emotion.

 

“Good, good.” He walks up to her workstation and reaches for a vial of blue liquid.

 

“Don’t touch that!” Lena yells and he rips his hand away as though it had been burned.

 

“It’s like you’ve never worked in a lab a day of your life. _That_ ,” she points to the small test tube rack with a half a dozen or so vials of the same blue liquid _,_ “will only take away Supergirl’s powers for good. But it will kill you.”

 

Lord eyes her suspiciously but seems to trust what she’s saying at the moment.

 

“Very well,” he says lifting his eyes to look where Kara stands on the other side of the mirror. It’s as if he knows exactly where she is, knows exactly where to look to make eye contact with her. “It’s time to put our plan in motion. I’ll be back in two hours. I expect you’ll be ready to administer your concoction to Supergirl then.”

 

Lena doesn’t answer, just puts her head down and scribbles down some more notes.

 

The viewing glass goes dark; the speaker releases a small _bzzt_ of static as the line goes dead.

 

Kara falls to her knees.

 

* * *

 

Alex has finally filled in Lucy on the gaps from her briefing. The concern J’onn had about using Lena’s safe house, the powers slowly coming back to Kara - under what she’ll admit later - a hilarious set of circumstances, J’onn believing the video evidence against Kara. And now, his sudden absence from the room since he broke a table with his fist after watching Kara and Lena being taken.

 

“Is there a reason you weren’t at the briefing, Director J’onzz,” Lucy asks harshly as she storms into the director’s office.

 

His back is to her. He doesn’t look up from the papers that he’s shuffling aimlessly around his desk. “I trust you and Agent Danvers had things well in hand.”

 

“J’onn,” Lucy does not back down. She lets out a frustrated grunt and rolls her eyes when he doesn’t respond. “ _Sir,”_ she starts again, the bite in her voice unmistakable, “what, if you’ll forgive me, the ever loving hell?”

 

“Excuse me?” J’onn turns around to face his assistant director, hands on his hips, anger overtaking his features.

 

“J’onn,” Lucy starts again, softer this time. “What is going on? Kara is attacked and you think she’s a part of some dubious plot against herself?”

 

“I followed the evidence as it presented itself, Major Lane. You should know that we cannot allow our feelings for certain members of our team affect our decisions. I held Supergirl to the same standards I would any agent.”

 

“She’s not just any agent, J’onn!”

 

“You don’t think I know that?” he bellows back and several agents who were milling around stop suddenly to gawk at the argument unfolding between their first and second in command.

 

Lucy turns, barks out orders to the onlookers to get moving, and closes the door to J’onn’s office. She is about to start again when he interrupts her.

 

“About ten of your Earth years before I left Mars,” he starts, his eyes seeing memories instead of Lucy in front of him. “I was head of the resistance against the White Martians. We were making gains against them. I was being hailed as a hero. The savior of the Green Martians.” J’onn’s eyes fill with tears suddenly. “And then… then they found my wife and daughters. They were in hiding but we were betrayed by someone in our ranks. Those monsters killed my wife and daughters.”

 

J’onn slumps into a chair and drops his head into his hands, wiping at his face angrily. “After that, after losing everything, I couldn’t do it anymore. I lost all sense of direction. How could I save an entire people when I couldn’t even save my family? I… I left the resistance. I destroyed all of my hard work. I set them back nearly a year in their efforts. And they…. even after I came back. They still lost. Lucy, they still lost.”

 

Tears are in both Lucy’s and J’onn’s eyes. Lucy pulls up a chair next to J’onn.

 

“Kara has lost so much, Lucy. And she’s so young. I guess I just thought…” J’onn takes a deep steadying breath. “I thought that I wouldn’t blame her for doing it. For destroying something that keeps her Supergirl. For doing something that would give her some release from all of that responsibility. And then I was so angry, because I expect her to be better. To be better than me.”

 

“She is. She is better, J’onn. Than all of us.”

 

“I know. She’s the hero we need, that we don’t deserve. And it was my mistake that got her captured, Lucy. I’ve destroyed everything again.”

 

“You haven’t, J’onn.”

 

J’onn looks at Lucy like he doesn’t believe her.

 

“You do, however, owe her one hell of an apology. And honestly, sir, I’d really like to be there when you tell her how much of an ass you were. Consider it my own version of sweet revenge for taking the directorship out from under me.”

 

J’onn laughs at that, deep from his belly and it’s obvious he lets go of something in that moment. Lucy would never try to define what it is. Who could - except maybe Kara - know what that would be? Who else could come close to knowing what J’onn has been through? And Lucy knows that’s exactly why Kara will forgive J’onn, eventually.

 

J’onn wipes at his eyes. “Bring me up to speed on the op, Major Lane.”

 

“With pleasure, sir.”

 

* * *

 

“Uh, directors?” Winn is yelling over his shoulder.

 

J’onn and Lucy come over to Winn followed by Alex. He clicks something on his keyboard and there are several different news feeds on the group of screens in front of them.

 

_“We’re not exactly sure what we’re seeing here, Aisha.”_

 

_“Coming to you live from downtown, we’ve received reports that Supergirl has been hovering in the same spot midair for the better part of an hour.”_

 

_“Yes, strange behavior indeed,” Cat Grant says, her interview on the evening news show suddenly interrupted, “very bizarre indeed.”_

 

“That’s not…” Winn’s voice trails off as the several sets of cameras suddenly follow Kara’s look alike shoot toward the earth. She stops just short of the street and lifts a commuter bus full of passengers off the ground and flies them higher and higher before balancing them precariously on a nearby rooftop.

 

J’onn and Alex are already running out of the room as the garbled voices of several reporters detail what they’re seeing in shock.

 

“What is it with this chick and rooftops?” Lucy asks angrily before dialing Maggie.

 

“Sawyer! Yeah… I know you’re on your way. Did you hear anything yet about this bitch?”

 

“My contacts were all dead ends,” Maggie says regretfully.

 

“Yeah, alright, thanks.” Lucy goes to hang up before bringing the phone back to her mouth for just long enough to say, “good luck.”

 

“Agent Schott, I want every patent, tech spec, and hidden project of Maxwell Lord. I don't care and don't want to know what you have to do to get the intel. I don’t think we’re dealing with an alien anymore.”

 

“Hell yes, “Winn raises both fists in the air in victory. “Eat my hack, Lord.”

 

Lucy rolls her eyes at the nerdy agent and by the time she looks back up at the screens, J’onn as Martian Manhunter has appeared and is working furiously to grab hold of the bus that is teetering over the edge of the building. He has to let go when a blonde flying in at superspeed comes straight for him.

 

He flies upward and starts a zigzagging motion to lure her away from the rooftop. She’s smart though and only follows him a short way before returning to her perch next to the bus. Like a dragon protecting her stash of gold.

 

“Supergirl! Save us!” a man shouts.

 

“Please! Supergirl!” the driver of the bus is crying.

 

“Save my son, please, take him. Save him!” a woman holds her toddler up to the window.

 

There pleas are rewarded only with silence and a curious stare.

 

_“No, Aisha, we can’t tell what’s happening.”_

 

_“I don’t know who this Bizarro is,” Cat’s voice cuts through, “but she certainly is not Supergirl.”_

 

_“Wait! There’s someone approaching!”_

 

The cameras zoom in to see a man walking out on the rooftop where the bus is.

 

_“Is that Maxwell Lord?”_

 

_“What is he doing here?”_

 

Lucy taps her comm. “J’onn! Lord on the roof. Circle back! Danvers, status?”

 

Alex grunts as she pulls herself up into the cockpit of a crane at a construction site next to the building where the people are being held hostage. “Winn! I need instructions on how to operate a crane, now!”

 

“Oookay…” Winn rolls his chair over to another computer station before switching Alex to a separate line where he can talk her through whatever crazy plan she’s about to hatch.

 

_“It would appear that Mr. Lord is trying to talk Supergirl down!”_

 

_“Yes, this brave man is taking on a super!”_

 

_“Can you hear what they’re saying?”_

 

_“What Maxwell Lord is saying?” Cat replies haughtily. “Whatever it is I’m sure it costs more than it’s worth.”_

 

“Supergirl!” Max can be heard yelling over the screams. “You don’t want to do this. Let me help you. Let these people go.” _Yes._ Max thinks to himself. _Yes. That’s right, zoom in on me. See a human save all of these people. Watch the fall of Supergirl._

 

_“It appears as though it’s working! Supergirl is leaving the bus alone…. Oh… oh my god!”_

 

“Noooo!” Max shouts as he runs forward futily to stop Bizarro.

 

Every camera in the city has caught who they believe to be Supergirl give a final push to the bus and send it over the edge of the building.

 

Screams fill the air from several stories up to the onlookers on the street below. As the back tires of the bus pitch over the side of the roof, the hook of the crane Alex is operating catches the back window’s steel frame and stops it’s plummet. Passengers jostle violently against their seats.

 

J’onn who was in route to seize Maxwell has to change plans. He positions himself under the front tires of the bus and lifts it so that it is horizontal again. He screams with the effort. “Together, Alex!” he yells. She nods though he can’t see her and helps J’onn guide it down while manning the hook on the backend.

 

As soon as it’s safely on the ground police and emergency personnel rush the bus. J’onn takes off again into the air.

 

The rooftop is abandoned by the time he returns.

 

* * *

 

“I told you,” Lena says calmly.

 

“Arrgghhh!” Max shouts as he runs his hands over a nearby workbench, scattering glass and instruments to the floor.

 

“Give it up, Max. You were always a second rate scientist. A second rate businessman. And now you’re a second rate Frankenstein. Your creation failed you. Let Kara and I go before you fail at that too.”

 

“No! No! I will not!” he runs straight for Lena, spit landing on her face as he speaks. “I may have lost this round but I still have Supergirl. Forget this pet project of yours. We revert to my original plan. Supergirl dies. Tonight.”

 

“No…” Lena is choking back sobs. “No. Max. You can’t do this!”

 

“Plan on what you want to say as your last goodbyes, Ms. Luthor,” Max says as he turns away from Lena to exit the lab.

 

Lena falls against the workbench and slides down to the floor. She brings her knees to her chest and lets out a strangled wail at the sight of Max’s retreating figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this helps resolve why our dear space dad has handled this situation so poorly at the start. I love him so much so it was hard having him go through this side journey with our heroines. I promise there's a reason for it. 
> 
> Up next! Lena doesn't stay down for long. Kara doesn't either for that matter. Let's see how our two sides come back together to kick Maxwell Lord's ass. 
> 
> PS These last few chapters have been posted faster than I'm usually able to update, but the muses have been on point for me this week. So yay! Fair warning though, I work this weekend and Sunday starts #SupercorpWeek2k17 over on Tumblr which I'm moderating. So, suffice to say that this may not get an update for about a week. I'm sorry about that! Hopefully my shorts for #SupercorpWeek2k17 will hold us all over! If you haven't checked it out head on over to supercorp-week2k17 (.) tumblr (.) com. (<\-- insert shameless plug here)


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